The West Australian newspaper said the miners lost their six-figure salaries over the stunt in the Agnew Gold Mine last week.

A dismissal letter cited by the paper says mine owner Barminco considered the stunt a safety issue. Barminco did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A YouTube video shows eight miners performing the convulsive dance. A sacked worker who would not give his name told the newspaper that up to 15 people were fired, including some who watched the performance but did not participate.

Up to 4,000 videos of Harlem Shake variations are uploaded on to the internet daily.